Phantasm of a Dim Dream
by Sami-Fire
Summary: Richter has a strange dream... with a twist.
1. Chapter 1: Dim Dream

Author's notes:

Alternate title: "Aster Stole the Precious Thing." In fact, I think you could probably get away with calling both of my previous stories "Aster Stole the Precious Thing." (Points for people who know what I'm talking about.)

Hmm. I'm not entirely sure what to think about this one… It looks different to me every time. For now, I've decided that it's a little bit too melodramatic compared to what I was expecting to write. I don't really like how it turned out… I'm bad at writing fluffy stuff without being too heavy-handed, and you might be able to see that at a certain "twist." I could also have just as easily ended the story at the end of chapter 1, but I'm such a sucker for happy endings… so I made the somewhat convoluted mess that is chapter 2.

There's one more story left in this "series," and then I'll probably switch to something or someone else. Unless I suddenly get some brilliant idea…

As always, feel free to leave reviews. Is there something in this story that's scaring people off or something? (I think I know what the trouble is, but it wouldn't hurt to get a few other opinions.)

Anyway, I can't think of any way to fix this one other than to burn it and start over. I'll let you be the judge regarding how good it really is.

* * *

I woke up in a dimly lit room. ...No, I didn't. This wasn't the room I fell asleep in. So, obviously, I was dreaming. I didn't see anything else in the room at first at first. Then I heard something move. I tried to get a closer look at it, and my heart started to pound in my chest.

That "thing" was Aster. He was suddenly standing not too far from me, his olive-green eyes looking darker in the poor light. He had decided to haunt my dreams because haunting my memory wasn't enough, apparently. I decided to speak to the phantom despite having convinced myself that it was only a dream. "Aster?"

To my surprise, he responded. "You can see me? ...Can you hear me?"

Here come the weird questions. "Yes, I hear you and I can see you. Do you want to explain-"

I didn't even get to finish before Aster jumped closer and grabbed me by the shoulders. What is going on here? "R-really?! Can you feel me touching you, too?!

This was getting bizarre. "...Yeah?"

Suddenly, his arms were around me. "Oh, Richter! It worked! I'm finally strong enough to communicate with you through dreams... It's just like they said!" Perhaps sensing how baffled I was, he let go. "...I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do." That was an understatement. "Well, let's just say I've been following you around for a while. I've also had to swipe a little Mana from you every once in a while to stay around, so, uh... sorry about that."

"It's alright, Aster." Why was I buying into this?

"No, it isn't. Just because it's me taking it from you doesn't make it right. But as I was saying... When ghosts are around for a long time, they become more powerful. Well, they don't really get power. It's more like they become more capable of interacting with the living, or at least people they were close to. Only the 'strongest' ghost is capable of being seen by the living. And actively manipulating things in the physical world? ...Well, that makes you a poltergeist, and that's generally frowned upon. That's what the others tell me, anyway."

My head was starting to spin. I decided to pick one train of thought and stick with it. "So... You're really Aster?"

He gave me a familiar smile. "You bet!"

There was an awkward silence as both of us stared at each other, waiting for the other one to speak. I was the first to break the silence. "Aster... You're disappointed with me, aren't you."

"...A little. I mean, of course I'm not happy that Ratatosk killed me, but I think you overreacted a lot. I think you should have come to your senses when the conditions for bringing me back involved destroying the world, yourself included. It's really something amazing that you would sacrifice everything for me, but... really, Richter? There are other people in this world, too!" I couldn't hide my shame. When someone comes back from the dead to tell you you've done something horrible, then you've definitely crossed the line. I was at a loss for words when Aster attempted to absolve me. "But from what I've heard, Ratatosk is trying to atone for everything he did, and it sounds like you are, too. I'm glad you both realized your mistakes."

"Aster... do you forgive me?"

"For what? You never did anything wrong to me. You might think that you burdened me or made me worry too much, but you never did. Not even once."

"Really? Even after all that I've done?"

"You're accepting the consequences. That should be enough, I think. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: angst doesn't suit you. Well, you DO have a reason this time, but to keep going after I've already said everything's alright? You can stop now, Richter. I think everything's going to be fine."

"No, it won't. How can you still try to reassure me like that?"

Aster made a few impatient-sounding noises. I could always tell when I got too aggressively pessimistic because Aster would start fidgeting and sighing and generally stop being so patient with me. "Yes, it will! Before we get stuck in an endless 'yes-it-will-no-it-won't-yes-it-will' loop, consider this: in a thousand years, the world will be a very different place. It'll be like being able to start a completely new life. I'd think that would sound good to you."

This was definitely the Aster that I knew. He was trying to tell me that everything would be alright in the end, like he always did. "You're still an idealist and an optimist, even after everything that just happened... That's amazing, Aster."

"And that's how I plan to stay! I hope you can get used to it again."

The last of my composure went out from under me. The only person that I was ever truly close to was standing in front of me, against all odds. This could be the last time I ever spoke with Aster, even if it was only a dream. I remembered all those times that Aster told me to tell him how I felt. So I took a deep breath, grabbed Aster, and held him tight. "Aster, that's why I... I loved you. And I still do." It was either that or... crying? How embarrassing. I felt blood rushing to my face. I'm not sure if I was blushing because I was ashamed or embarrassed or for some other reason entirely.

Aster returned the gesture. What he said next shocked me more than anything he had ever said. "...I loved you too, Richter. And I still do love you! What do you think gave me the will to come back? It was you, Richter! Don't look so surprised. Did you really think I don't feel the same way about you as you do about me? Well, you were wrong!" He suddenly changed the subject. "This is probably coming from absolutely nowhere, but... when everything is taken care of... don't even think about killing yourself to 'join' me!"

Absolutely nowhere? There's another major understatement. "Aster... the thought never even crossed my mind. I don't know what I'll do when I finally get out of here, but I never planned for that."

The fear went out of Aster's eyes. "I'm glad... This sort of thing is an imprecise science, you know? I wouldn't want you to accidentally miss me. Just know that I will wait till I can see you again. Even if I have to wait a thousand years, I'll just suck it up and be patient. Maybe by then you'll be able to hear me and speak with me outside of dreams."

"Aster..." These moments were precious to me. Would we ever hold each other like this again? He felt so warm against me... after a few minutes, everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2: Vanishing Dream

I woke up in the Ginnungagap, completely confused. Where did Aster go? I remembered my dream and felt absolutely miserable. So it was only a dream after all... I felt cold. It was a freezing, biting, bitter cold that drowned out everything else. It was a stark contrast to how warm I just imagined I was. I also felt like an idiot, standing here and feeling sad about nothing. What was wrong with me?

Ratatosk's voice echoing through my head caught me off guard. I can't think of anyone who was better at killing a moment. "Are you alright, Richter?" I wouldn't say anything back to him. After all, my current emotional status was indirectly his fault (but who am I to fling blame around?). Then he said something weird. It sounded distant and muffled, as though he was speaking from the other end of the Ginnungagap. "Finally got you!" ...Got who?

...I never expected the answer. I heard Ratatosk say, "Well, it looks like I was right. I guess you can stay here. I'm not going to kill you in front of Richter again."

"...Thanks, Ratatosk."

I did a double... no, a triple take. "Aster?!"

"You can hear me?!"

Well, I knew I was awake. This definitely wasn't a dream. "Yes. Aster, did you just-"

"Well, that might just be because Ratatosk is giving me a boost, but... Hello again, Richter!"

It wasn't entirely a dream after all. That whole conversation we had in that room actually happened. I suddenly felt warm again. I thought I felt someone's hands on my shoulders, but I had to have imagined that.

Ratatosk barged in again. "Anyway, I'm sorry for just knocking you out like that. I had to test something. New universal laws don't always work correctly right away, you know. ...Just make sure your friend doesn't cause too much trouble."

"Don't worry about me. I'll probably be asleep most of the time. I'll still be waking up to talk to Richter every once in a while, though," Aster said.

"You'll be lucky if he's even awake when you are. I plan to keep him asleep most of the time, too. When his Mana was first turned to flames... it wasn't pretty. Those first few days weren't a cakewalk, either."

Oh, that explains everything. "I can hear you, Ratatosk. Why would you do that to me? I'd think that you'd want me to suffer for what I've done," I said.

"It's just to keep your body in stasis. Since you don't have a Cruxis Crystal to stop your body's clock, I have to play around with your body's Mana. A side effect of that is that you'll go unconscious for very long periods of time. If it really bothers you that much, I'll wake you up every once in a while and let you burn for a few days."

As always, Aster had to have a say in how I was treated. "Come on, Richter! He's giving you a break, so why don't you just take it? ...Anyway, it's not necessary for Richter to be awake. I can talk to him anyway. Isn't that right, Richter?"

"...Is any of this actually happening?" I couldn't continue to suspend my disbelief. This was just getting ridiculous.

According to Aster, it was. "You can hear me talking to you, right? Can you feel me touching you? And, as Ratatosk can confirm, you're awake. I'd say this is as real as it gets, Richter."

Ratatosk just had to put in his two Gald. "If you need a second opinion... I'd say this is really happening, too." So I apparently wasn't imagining everything I thought I was imagining. Those really were Aster's hands on my shoulders. The pleasant surprises didn't last long, though. "Sorry for the short notice, but I've got to put you to sleep again. I've still got a few bugs to iron out. See you later, Richter."

Aster chimed in, "See you soon, Richter!"

It started to go dark again. I could still feel Aster holding me tight... Maybe things wouldn't end so badly after all. Maybe.


End file.
